On a typical day, we leave a vast trail of data in our wake. Our browsing histories, online preferences, shopping habits, work decisions, social interactions—all are rendered in binary code, prompting a complex interaction of requests, responses, affirmations, and denials.

And that’s just from our laptops and smartphones.

What about when the Internet of Everything — with its explosion in connectivity from 10 billion “things” today to 50 billion in 2020 — truly shifts into overdrive? At that point, our clothing, our houses, our cars, our lawns, and our refrigerators may be generating ever-larger torrents of data — all about us.

This upsurge in personal Big Data has big implications. Indeed, each person’s emerging digital persona will go a long way toward defining their place in the world. Furthermore, all of that data already has great intrinsic value to Internet giants, retailers, financial services companies, and many others. If we manage it right — in what I see as a burgeoning Marketplace of Me — some of that value may come right back to us.

December is here and that means that Santa Claus is putting the final touches on his list and checking it twice. For the seventh year, Cisco is teaming up with hospitals across the Americas to provide children who are hospitalized during the holidays the opportunity to show Santa what good little boys and girls they’ve been (and let him know what tops their wish list). From Canada, down to the United States and Latin America, Santa will virtually visit hospitals from his post at the North Pole, making cyber-stops by way of the magic of the latest mobile and collaboration technologies.

Santa Visits Hospitalized Children (photo courtesy of American Family Children’s Hospital)

Approximately 50 hospitals throughout the Americas, with the help of Cisco and our partners, will bring a live feed of the North Pole to their patients – using either an iPad, or a video monitor and web-enabled camera. Santa will visit with children in the hospital’s playroom, and for those who don’t feel well enough to leave their room, a mobile cart or iPad enabled with Cisco Jabber® software will help Santa travel for a bedside visit.

Much like children who are able to sit on Santa’s lap, patients will have the opportunity to pass along their wishes this holiday season in plenty of time for St. Nick to make his list and check it twice.

Cisco is proud to be able to touch the lives of these children with the hope and happiness of a personalized visit with Santa using Cisco technologies. View the full list of hospitals that are participating in the 2013 Cisco Santa Connection Program.

“The House of Representatives today took measured and reasonable steps against the misuse of the legal system by patent assertion entities, by passing legislation to dry up the financial incentives that allow patent assertion entities to thrive.

As a company that has a portfolio of over 10,000 US patents by dint of our strong culture of innovation, we care about a patent system that rewards true innovation — and we oppose misuse of that system by those who use the costs and uncertainty of litigation to extract unearned gains or to assert patents that should never have been issued.

At a time when most issues in front of Congress are frozen in gridlock, this bill passed with a strong bipartisan majority, 325-90. Members clearly recognize that patent trolls are a drag on our economy and on innovation.

The fight now moves to the Senate, where I am hopeful that a similar bipartisan majority will take action against this growing problem.

On behalf of Cisco, I’d like to thank Chairman Bob Goodlatte for his leadership on this issue, as well as Representatives Zoe Lofgren, George Holding, Anna Eshoo, and so many others for their support. The fight is not yet over, but today was a major step in the right direction.”

I imagine, like most professionals, your day is filled with solving challenging demands. Whether it’s increasing efficiency in your line of business or developing new ways to reach customers and increase sales, transformation is happening. And you are driving it.Today’s leaders are leveraging mobility to move their business forward and improve their organizations; from providing users adaptive, personalized experiences to introducing new operating models and gaining additional business intelligence. Having the right information from the right people will ensure you’re not left behind.

Research from Richard Franzi in a Critical Mass for Businessarticle supports the importance of top executives learning from other executives to help resolve issues. Learning from those who are moving in the same direction can help drive better results, especially in today’s competitive environment.

With this approach in mind, the latest edition of Mobilize offers peer-to-peer insights from C-level executives that are not only managing pain-points, but overcoming them with strategic innovative decisions.

Do you have a need for automated provisioning of your data center? Cisco Prime Data Center Network Manager (DCNM) might just provide that solution.

DCNMis designed to help you efficiently implement, visualize, and manage the Cisco Unified Fabric. The need today in the datacenter is for a comprehensive management platform that delivers visibility as well as control of all elements within the Unified Fabric which in turn significantly simplifies troubleshooting, maintenance and provisioning of the entire fabric in a fast and efficient way.Watch the video below to find out more.

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